Jaques suffered an early season run of five ducks in six Championship innings

Worcestershire coach Steve Rhodes says that Aussie opener Phil Jaques will be missed once he bows out after Sunday's FP t20 game with Leicestershire.

In his third summer at New Road, Jaques has not scored the weight of runs he did first time round when he hit 1,148 runs in eight Championship matches.

But Rhodes stressed: "He is a quality person to have in the dressing room.

"He has the strength of personality to fight back when he was not scoring runs. That's what sort of man he is."

After hitting 47 and 41 in this season's Championship opener on his first game back for Worcestershire against Middlesex, Jaques then suffered an awful trot, being out for a duck in five of his next six innings, bagging two pairs in the process.

But he bounced back to then hit half centuries in his next three Championship innings, to finish with an aggregate of 465 in eight matches, at 31.

His best form was reserved for the CB40, in which he has hit 249 in five innings, and he has made just 245 runs in 12 knocks in the Twenty20.

But he still two more chances, at home to Durham at New Road on Friday (1730 BST) before his final game in the return against Leicestershire at New Road on Sunday (1430 BST).

Having undergone operations to correct a back injury in Australia last winter, Jaques, 31, has proved his fitness at New Road. But Rhodes has acknowledged the fact that he needs some time off before returning home to play for New South Wales.

Worcestershire director of cricket Rhodes is backing his young team

"He will be going back and having a breather," added Rhodes, the county's director of cricket.

"He has played a lot of cricket since his operation and he wants to be fit for a full Australian season."

To compensate for Jaques' imminent departure, Worcestershire could have skipper Vikram Solanki back for Friday's game with Durham after missing his side's last nine matches with a pelvic injury.

Fast bowler Gareth Andrew, star of Wednesday night's win over Leicestershire, misses the game with a back injury.

Andrew, at 26, was the equal third oldest player (after Jaques and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya) in Worcestershire's inexperienced side at Grace Road.

But Rhodes is insistent that the comparatively young team he will have out there, who still have an outside chance of making the FP t20 quarter-finals, will give it their best shot.

"There are a lot of people who put negatives on our performances," stated Rhodes. "But you have to understand they are learning the game, and you can never knock them for effort.

"In every game we have played, even when we have lost, we have done our best.

"We are a young side, a developing side and there are some young boys playing out there. Ben Cox, at 18, helped get us home at Leicester and played a major role as our keeper."

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